Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Slice of Life: Making Roll in Tennessee!

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 
to the Tuesday Slice of Life (SOL) community.
Thanks to Stacey, Tara, Betsy, Dana, BethAnna, Kathleen, and Deb
                    for hosting this meeting place each Tuesday and nurturing our writing lives.


Sometime around dusk, I hear the coyotes howling.  Sometime in the night, I hear the lonesome wail of a train.  And sometime around daybreak, I awake to a lone rooster greeting the day.  Time to rise and shine!  

Sarah, my great niece, pops in the door with the first egg of the day.  She's fairly dancing with excitement for our morning project.  But first we gather around her grandmother Nancy's table for a country breakfast - two farm fresh eggs served with homemade wheat bread toast and crabapple jelly.  

And then it's time to rock and roll because today is "roll-making" time.  Sarah is learning how to make chocolate roll, a pastry that family lore traces to my great-grandmother, Elizabeth Caroline Duff, Sarah's great-great-great grandmother.  My nephew, Shaun, has requested that I share the recipe and a hands-on lesson with Sarah while I'm visiting Tennessee.  

The biggest decision of the morning is whether to bake a cinnamon or chocolate roll.  No problem there, we'll just make both.  Each of us stirs up a batch of pie dough.  I model the process with the chocolate roll, and Sarah makes the cinnamon roll.  As she expertly rolls out the rectangular base for the pastry, I verify that she has the baking gene!  

As Sarah pulls her finished cinnamon roll out of the oven, I think of the angel cooks hovering in the kitchen, (Elizabeth Caroline, Ella, and Lillian),  giving their nods of approval.   I can almost hear the flutter of wings as they exit the room, knowing that another family branch will continue to sit down together to savor chocolate and cinnamon roll.


11 comments:

  1. Ramona, I'm drooling over that breakfast and I love the thought of the angel cooks with you in the kitchen. Your niece is adorable, and I'm sure she treasured this time with you!

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  2. I love that you are continuing a family recipe. Your niece is adorable

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  3. Now I understand the story behind the pictures previously posted. Your beginning paragraph sounded like Cynthia Rylant, so soothing to read. I love the special treats that have been created through the generations, that is some awesome history! Looks like you are having a great time!

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  4. Yummy! I can smell the cinnamon. It was all over my kitchen this weekend as I created too. Don't you just love having another generation enjoy the art of baking, Ramona.

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  5. Such a sweet story...and that photograph just made me smile!

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  6. Nieces are special! Treasure every moment..and savor every bite!
    Jennifer Sniadecki

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  7. Angel cooks and the flutter of wings! Passing on family recipes! This is a great slice.

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  8. How wonderful you can pass on those family recipes to such a lovely young lady. Beautiful slice!

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  9. Send some of those my way. I'm just about ready for my first cup of coffee at 5:26. Looks great!
    DigitalBonnie

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  10. Love how your family traditions are carrying on!

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  11. I love the line where you decide to make both the cinnamon and the chocolate! Whaat delights you two cooked up. Your joy is showing!

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